Newsletter

The term short staffing is a euphemism to divert attention from the state’s continued addiction to incarceration.

Aging in prison meant realizing my son was also a victim of my crime due to my absence from his life. I try to do what I can on visits to help my son succeed.

Although my artistic pursuits began with material necessity, they have become a way for me to express myself and find inner peace within the oppressive environment in which I am confined.

“I was sentenced and put in prison for the choices I made. I was not sentenced to being raped and abused while in prison.” 

In June, I stepped into a body scanner outside the visitation room at the Washington Corrections Center and held my breath.

In prison, there is no space to grieve. I kept thinking that if only I was home, I could have given her the support she needed.

Six people on North Carolina’s death row have been found innocent since I’ve been here.

A new book uses parole to chronicle how the criminal legal system prioritizes punishment over actually rehabilitating people or making society safer.

George Floyd’s ancestors were born into slavery. Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa powerfully document Floyd’s life and lineage.

I experienced my first childbirth while I was incarcerated in a county jail.

A report by the Vera Institute of Justice and Black & Pink highlights the many ways in which state prisons mistreat transgender people—nearly 90 percent of respondents said they’d been placed in solitary at some point.

A recent report by the New Jersey Comptroller’s office found that a company called Street Cop trained police to shoot indiscriminately at people, medically experiment on the injured, and treat virtually anyone who isn’t a white, straight, cisgender male with open disdain. More training like this won’t make America safer.

On Jan. 19, New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a bill that would have effectively banned solitary confinement in his city’s jails. Incarcerated writer Chris Blackwell and CUNY Law Professor Deborah Zalesne share why the practice is so horrific.

Late last year, the U.S. Department of Justice warned the state of Tennessee that its “aggravated prostitution” statute—which makes it a felony to engage in sex work while HIV positive—violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Activists hope the measure shows how the government can use the ADA to fight ableism around the nation.

The Appeal spoke with Robert Saleem Holbrook about the long-standing solidarity among liberation movements for Black Americans and Palestine.

A study found that in states requiring permits to purchase firearms, fatal and nonfatal police shootings were 28 percent lower.

In this excerpt formerly incarcerated writer James Kilgore denounces the growing use of e-carceration technologies like ankle monitors.

Despite the frequency of in-custody deaths, their exact scope remains unknown and data is often intentionally obfuscated.

Lacino Hamilton spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit before being exonerated in 2020 after DNA evidence cleared him.

The phrase “toxic masculinity” is ubiquitous these days, but there are few places where it’s more all-consuming than in a men’s prison

Lawmakers in seven states proposed bills to make abortion murder punishable by death. Cops arrested three women for their pregnancy outcomes.

As the saying goes, the first Pride was a riot. The only way queer people have won anything is by fighting—in the courts and in the streets.

Online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay make billions from shoplifted products. Why are police and lawmakers focusing on small-time thieves?

Jenkins won’t charge the security guard who shot Banko Brown to death. That’s precisely why San Franciscans elected her in the first place.

Uriah Courtney was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. His conviction was overturned due to DNA evidence.

JShawn Guess recounts how being unable to earn money while in prison led to him missing out on his final moments with his mom.

A trans woman mutilated herself in a New Jersey men’s prison after officials refused to transfer her to a women’s facility.

Long before the murder-suicide, there had been numerous reports to CPS about suspected abuse in the Hart household.

A wave of bills threatens to channel more people toward incarceration, mete out longer prison terms, and limit prosecutors’ discretion.

ShotSpotter, Flock Safety, and Fog Data Science pitch themselves as third-party public-safety platforms, but they really are are “data brokers”—companies that profit by selling bulk information to others.

For millions of families, this time of year is yet another reminder of all that is missed when a loved one is incarcerated

gorodenkoff / iStock by Getty Images Over-Reliance on Plea Deals is Damaging the Criminal Legal System by Nneka Ewulonu It’s easy for the average American to envision a courtroom trial. Shows like “Law and Order” inundate us with fictional depictions of trials—from the thud of a gavel to the inquisitive eyes of a jury—with an […]

Some recent redevelopment projects show how the work of reforming and dismantling the prison system can move us towards a society centered around restorative justice and social wellness.

Youth curfews don’t work. Over 11,500 kids were arrested in 2019 for curfew violations or loitering, per FBI data. Nearly 30% were Black.

Police gave Alex Mingus an award for saving a shooting victim’s life. Mingus showed up wearing a shirt that said “Smash white supremacy”.

Midterm election results show the bad-faith “crime wave” narrative failed to con a critical mass of voters, who instead want a less draconian police state.

One year of worker-led publishing! But our at The Appeal work is just beginning. Thanks to NewsMatch, your donation will be tripled.

Olayemi Olurin spoke with The Appeal about abolition, living in a police state, Rikers Island, and the media.

The medical examiner who helped put Tasha Shelby in prison has since said her son’s death was not a homicide.

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon be hearing a case that will impact whether Texas executes Rodney Reed for capital murder— though another man has confessed to the crime.